itsJones610

Does anyone know which school has the better undergrad Physics department between Kutztown University and East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania? Which one has better research opportunities and will give the best options when applying for grad school?

happymomof1

Why just those two? Do you need to stay in that area for college?

itsJones610

They are both within driving distance from home and also lower tuition. I'm currently a returning student enrolled at Penn State, but I'm thinking about switching schools to save money.

happymomof1

What is your long-term goal? Grad school? A job requiring Physics? A secondary school teaching certificate in the sciences?

Once you have defined your goal, speak with each of these departments and the career center at each university, and ask about their placement rates.

Commuting is challenging, but if it will help you achieve your goals, it will be worth it.

Wishing you all the best!

Creekland

Obviously, pay attention to the strike threat at the state schools (not state-related schools like Penn St, but the true state schools). Hopefully that will be over soon - and won't actually happen before they come to an agreement, BUT, students already at the schools aren't reporting much optimism. They're concerned - keeping all of us watchful.

pacyclone

I am a member of this forum as a parent but since I am also chair of the physics department at ESU, I might be able to provide some helpful information (hopefully, not so biased).

Both programs have an active student group (called the Society of Physics Students) but the Kutztown group is more active. Part of the reason for that is that the Kutztown program has more students (Kutztown university itself is larger). ESU probably has 90-100 students in physics-related majors but only about a third are straight physics majors (BA or BS in physics). We also have programs in earth and space science (both as part of the BA in Earth and Space Science, and as a concentration within our BS physics), engineering, and secondary education.

I suggest you contact each department, if you haven't already, to discuss your interests. At ESU, we are proud of the fact that our graduates do very well in graduate school and in tests like the physics GRE, but I don't know how we compare to Kutztown in that regard. And, if you are interested in research, you should look into what kind of research is being done at each school.

Good luck!